1,784 research outputs found
Objectives-Based Fisheries Management; Building on 20-years Experience with Individual Transferable Quotas
The year 2006 marked the twentieth anniversary of the introduction of the Quota Management System (QMS) in New Zealand fisheries management. This major institutional change made individual transferable quota (ITQ) the quantitative authority for commercial fisheries catches, leading structural change and economic development to transform the New Zealand fishing industry into a prosperous and major contributor to the national economy. In addition to being a significant anniversary for the QMS, last year also saw significant development of a new objectives-based co-management framework by the Ministry of Fisheries. Created to build on the strengths of the QMS, the new approach seeks to establish a hierarchy of specified objectives for fisheries management from overall statements of desired outcomes through to detailed standards for processes and management performance explicitly linked through stated intervention logic. Working to this set of objectives and standards, an agency-facilitated stakeholder process will develop agreed management plans for defined fisheries. Objectives must be measurable and linkages testable, with monitoring of specified performance indicators being integral components of agreed plans. The new Fisheries Plan framework capitalises on the coherence brought to the commercial sector by secure catching rights under the QMS, attempting to extend this across the broader stakeholder community. It is endeavouring to establish a new process model for agency-initiated co-management that has the potential to draw diverse stakeholders together and develop common goals for management of their fisheries. After providing a brief introduction to the New Zealand context and the QMS and its history, this paper sets out to assess how the QMS has performed against the assumptions that underpinned its implementation in the mid-1980s. This in turn provides the context for the next step the development of the Fisheries Plan framework envisioned to move the overall management system in New Zealand forward into an era of broader stewardship of resources and environment, by all fisheries stakeholders. This new framework and the progress thus far are briefly described.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,
STEM graduates in non STEM jobs (BIS Research Paper number 30)
"This report documents extensive new research, commissioned by the Department for
Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) in 2009, into the early careers and career decisions of
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students and graduates in order
to understand why many elect not to enter STEM occupations and/or STEM employment
sectors and what influences these career choices." - Page 13
Toward Justice: Reflections on A Lesson Before Dying
In 2016, the citizens of Knoxville, Tennessee, joined in a community reading program called the Big Read. Knoxvillians read Ernest Gaines\u27s book A Lesson Before Dying, and community groups hosted a series of lectures, book discussions, film screenings, and dramatic performances that immersed the community in a five-week conversation on racism.
This book of essays is the University of Tennessee Libraries\u27 contribution to Knoxville\u27s Big Read. The Libraries put out a community-wide call for written responses to A Lesson Before Dying and was richly rewarded with the thoughtful and heartfelt commentaries gathered here.https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_newfound-ebooks/1015/thumbnail.jp
Incentive-based approaches to sustainable fisheries
The failures of traditional target-species management have led many to propose an ecosystem approach to fisheries to promote sustainability. The ecosystem approach is necessary, especially to account for fishery-ecosystem interactions, but by itself is not sufficient to address two important factors contributing to unsustainable fisheries â inappropriate incentives bearing on fishers, and the ineffective governance that frequently exists in commercial, developed fisheries managed primarily by total harvest limits and input-controls. We contend that much greater emphasis must be placed on fisher motivation when managing fisheries. Using evidence from more than a dozen ânatural experimentsâ in commercial fisheries, we argue that incentive-based approaches that better specify community, individual harvest, or territorial rights and also price ecosystem services â coupled with public research, monitoring and effective oversight â promote sustainable fisheries.incentives, sustainability, rights, fisheries management
Incentive-based approaches to sustainable fisheries (now replaced by EEN0508)
Using examples from more than a dozen fisheries, we highlight the failures of âcommand controlâ management and show that approaches that empower fishers with the incentives and the mandate to be co-custodians of the marine environment can promote sustainability. Evidence is provided that where harvesters share well-defined management responsibilities over fish, and experience both the pain of overexploitation and the gains from conservation, they are much more likely to protect fish stocks and habitat. The key insight is that to maintain marine ecosystems for present and future generations, fishing incentives must be compatible with long-term goals of sustainability.incentives, sustainability, rights, fisheries management
Moisture-controlled Triboelectrification during coffee grinding
Triboelectrification is the physical process where materials acquire surface charge from frictional interactions at their interfaces.The magnitude of charge depends on the interfacial material composition and can be harnessed in emergent technologies for energy generation.
The mechanism of electrostatic accumulation is complex and is further obscured in granular materials where collisions are sufficiently energetic to cause fracturing. In this âfractoelectricâ regime, crack initiation and propagation are thought to charge particles through transfer of electrons and/or ions at the hot crack interface.
Whether a materialâs charging is dominated by tribo- or fractoelectrification, fracture-generated granular flows often comprise particles whose surface charge density may exceed the theoretical maximum value of 27 ÎŒC per meter squared or charge-to-mass ratios in the range of 0.1â100 nC per gram.
There remains fundamental interest in studying the mechanism and magnitude of charging and methods to control the process, in particular to mitigate spurious effects such as electrostatic discharges and agglomeration within industrial settings
Determinants of adults' intention to vaccinate against pandemic swine flu
This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: Vaccination is one of the cornerstones of controlling an influenza pandemic. To optimise vaccination rates in the general population, ways of identifying determinants that influence decisions to have or not to have a vaccination need to be understood. Therefore, this study aimed to predict intention to have a swine influenza
vaccination in an adult population in the UK. An extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour provided the theoretical framework for the study.
Methods: Three hundred and sixty two adults from the UK, who were not in vaccination priority groups, completed either an online (n = 306) or pen and paper (n = 56) questionnaire. Data were collected from 30th October 2009, just after swine flu vaccination became available in the UK, and concluded on 31st December 2009. The main outcome of interest was future swine flu vaccination intentions.
Results: The extended Theory of Planned Behaviour predicted 60% of adultsâ intention to have a swine flu vaccination with attitude, subjective norm, perceived control, anticipating feelings of regret (the impact of missing a vaccination opportunity), intention to have a seasonal vaccine this year, one perceived barrier: âI cannot be bothered to get a swine flu vaccinationâ and two perceived benefits: âvaccination decreases my chance of getting swine flu or its complicationsâ and âif I get vaccinated for swine flu, I will decrease the frequency of having to consult my doctor,â being significant predictors of intention. Black British were less likely to intend to have a vaccination compared to Asian or White respondents.
Conclusions: Theoretical frameworks which identify determinants that influence decisions to have a pandemic influenza vaccination are useful. The implications of this research are discussed with a view to maximising any future pandemic influenza vaccination uptake using theoretically-driven applications.This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund
ChatGPT and Bard Responses to Polarizing Questions
Recent developments in natural language processing have demonstrated the
potential of large language models (LLMs) to improve a range of educational and
learning outcomes. Of recent chatbots based on LLMs, ChatGPT and Bard have made
it clear that artificial intelligence (AI) technology will have significant
implications on the way we obtain and search for information. However, these
tools sometimes produce text that is convincing, but often incorrect, known as
hallucinations. As such, their use can distort scientific facts and spread
misinformation. To counter polarizing responses on these tools, it is critical
to provide an overview of such responses so stakeholders can determine which
topics tend to produce more contentious responses -- key to developing targeted
regulatory policy and interventions. In addition, there currently exists no
annotated dataset of ChatGPT and Bard responses around possibly polarizing
topics, central to the above aims. We address the indicated issues through the
following contribution: Focusing on highly polarizing topics in the US, we
created and described a dataset of ChatGPT and Bard responses. Broadly, our
results indicated a left-leaning bias for both ChatGPT and Bard, with Bard more
likely to provide responses around polarizing topics. Bard seemed to have fewer
guardrails around controversial topics, and appeared more willing to provide
comprehensive, and somewhat human-like responses. Bard may thus be more likely
abused by malicious actors. Stakeholders may utilize our findings to mitigate
misinformative and/or polarizing responses from LLM
The mechanisms and drivers of lithification in slagâdominated artificial ground
Unconsolidated artificial ground is an ever-increasing feature on the Earth's surface but it poses various challenges such as pollutant release and ground instability. The process of lithification could be an important factor in changing the properties of artificial ground and ameliorating these challenges. In this study, a lithified deposit of a furnace slag associated with a former iron and steel works in Scotland was analysed to determine the mechanisms and drivers of lithification. Scanning Electron Microscope analysis showed that Ca leached from around the edges of clasts of slag through reaction of the chemically unstable slag with water from an adjacent water body. Dissolution of Ca (and OH-) from the slag caused the water in contact with the slag to become hyperalkaline, facilitating ingassing and hydroxylation of CO2 from the atmosphere (fingerprinted through carbon isotope analysis). Reaction of the dissolved Ca and CO2 led to precipitation of calcite. Scanning Electron Microscope analysis showed the calcite is distributed between slag clasts, forming rims around clasts and cementing clasts together into a solid rock-like mass. Understanding the mechanisms and drivers of lithification in artificial ground will be important, given its widespread nature particularly in urban areas where artificial ground is the substrate of most development
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An annual time series of weekly size-resolved aerosol properties in the megacity of Metro Manila, Philippines
Size-resolved aerosol samples were collected in Metro Manila between July 2018 and October 2019. Two Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactors (MOUDI) were deployed at Manila Observatory in Quezon City, Metro Manila with samples collected on a weekly basis for water-soluble speciation and mass quantification. Additional sets were collected for gravimetric and black carbon analysis, including during special events such as holidays. The unique aspect of the presented data is a year-long record with weekly frequency of size-resolved aerosol composition in a highly populated megacity where there is a lack of measurements. The data are suitable for research to understand the sources, evolution, and fate of atmospheric aerosols, as well as studies focusing on phenomena such as aerosol-cloud-precipitation-meteorology interactions, regional climate, boundary layer processes, and health effects. The dataset can be used to initialize, validate, and/or improve models and remote sensing algorithms
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